Lerone Martin discusses his new book, “The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism.” Prof. Martin argues that J. Edgar Hoover molded the FBI after his own personal and deeply held religious beliefs and crafted a culture where FBI Agents were defenders of a certain type of religious faith. Hoover solidified a vision of America that was founded on white Christian values, so that any deviation of politics or thought threatened the very fabric of the nation. Hoover’s articles in “Christianity Today” helped propel the F.B.I. Director into the forefront of white Christian nationalist circles, while allowing him to police the definitions he created for that religious movement. Prof. Martin stresses how Hoover feared Martin Luther King, Jr. more for being the wrong kind of Christian and potentially establishing himself as a “Black Messiah” which would upend Hoover’s vision of America’s core values.
Lerone A. Martin, Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor, and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University.